- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- Ancelotti points finger at Madrid's 'lack of intensity'
- Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
- Five Czech kids in hospital over TikTok 'piercing challenge'
- What happens next in Iran-Israel conflict?
- Country star Garth Brooks denies rape accusations
- Stubbs hits maiden century as South Africa make 343-4 against Ireland
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Odegaard injury has forced Arsenal to be 'different', says Arteta
- Ratcliffe refuses to guarantee Ten Hag's Man Utd future
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Mauritius to hold legislative election on November 10
- Britain qualify for America's Cup final after 60-year wait
- IMF asks Sri Lanka to protect hard-won gains
- Morata returns to Spain Nations League squad after injury
- Irish regulator to probe Ryanair use of facial recognition
- Public allowed to see video evidence in France mass rape trial
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- Under-fire Ten Hag 'together' with Man Utd hierarchy
- Guardiola talks of Man City love affair as financial hearing rumbles on
- De Bruyne out of Belgium Nations League squad
- Japanese trainer Yahagi hopes Shin Emperor achieves 50-year-old Arc dream
- UK's Starmer hails 'landmark' carbon capture funding
Climate activists halt traffic at Frankfurt airport
Police on Thursday arrested climate activists who glued themselves to the tarmac at Frankfurt airport, Germany's busiest, compelling it to temporarily suspend arrivals and departures.
Traffic was halted during the busy summer holiday season for two hours before the first of the airport's landing runways was able to operate again at 0502 GMT, said a spokesman at the airport.
Passengers were advised to check the status of their flights while the airport ramped up its operations again.
Seven of the activists had managed to reach the runway where they glued themselves onto the tarmac, a police spokesman said. The eighth was still trying to get through the perimeter fence when he was detained.
The police operation to clear activists off the airport's restricted grounds was ongoing, added the spokesman. All eight were arrested.
According to climate activist group "Letzte Generation" (Last Generation) which claimed the civil disobedience action, its members had used pincers to cut openings in the wire fence before making their way "by foot, with bicycles and skateboards to different points around the runways".
A photo circulated by the group depicted a protester sitting on the tarmac with an orange banner "oil kills".
The group is pushing for a binding international accord that would lead to an end in oil, gas and coal use by 2030.
Transport Minister Volker Wissing condemned the protests Thursday as "criminal" action and demanded tough penalties against the activists.
"The climate activists are apparently seeking to bring about maximum damage. The legislators must react with maximum severity," he told German media, calling for prison terms of up to five years in jail for those who storm airports.
"Anyone who violently forces their way into airports, occupies runways and blocks airplanes is endangering human lives," he said.
- Concerted action -
Thursday's protest action came a day after similar operations across several European airports.
Activists from Letzte Generation disrupted traffic at Cologne-Bonn airport for several hours on Wednesday by glueing themselves on the tarmac.
Several climate protesters were also arrested at London's Heathrow airport.
The protest organisers are part of the A22 Network of groups committed to non-violent climate protests, which said it was planning to disrupt airports in several countries in the coming months.
Protests were planned in Britain, Austria, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada, United States and Norway, UK-based activists from the alliance told AFP earlier in July.
Global aviation is responsible for around 2.5 percent of global carbon emissions, more than the annual carbon footprint of Brazil and France combined.
Last Generation is known for mounting eye-catching protests -- from throwing mashed potatoes at paintings in museums to glueing themselves on busy roads.
Their tactics, which have proved deeply divisive, have led to some of their members being convicted.
"Instead of seeking tougher sentences, politicians should seriously take the scale of the disaster that they are themselves fuelling," said Lisa Johnson, spokeswoman of the group.
"Prison sentences won't shield us from heatwaves, droughts, floods and dramatically rising sea levels," she warned.
Letzte Generation has said it would hold protests from September 25 against planned government subsidies for Kassel-Calden airport.
J.Oliveira--PC